Leather Business Cards

[RavenAus]

By the way, I'm still curious, why are these so over-priced? $1.50 in material (at RETAIL) and 5 minutes worth of labor justifies $65? Yikes! And what about the surcharge for non-vector artwork? That's pretty sneaky - the average leatherworker probably doesn't even know what that means.

What, so you could sell them cheaper? A 4" stamp? I do wonder how much the setup of EDC's business cost. I'm betting he didn't just wander down to Hobby Lobby and pick up the machine on clearance...

Also, we ain't all thick. Some of us actually know how to do more than hit things with hammers. I'm sure that many of us actually DO know the difference between vector and raster and why a raster file can lead to more work.

[sangmort]

Personally, I like the idea. But I wouldn't use Tandy's scraps [ why do that when I can use my own? ] & I work with latigo / bridle, which is easier to burn / brand than stamp. I mean really, if you make a card out of the leather you are using, people can see it & feel it. I don't know about others, but I was ridiculously picking when it came to finding the perfect supplier of leather. I went through 5 different suppliers before I found the leather that was perfect.

At the same time, if we did do something like this, I wouldn't hand them out to just anybody. But, from a business / marketing sense, it is a good idea. Imagine going to a meeting with a potential client & handing them one of these. Is it a gimmick? Sure...but it'll definitely leave an impression!

That's my .02 cents, not going to comment on the drama. lol ~

[Stewart]

Now that's something worth looking into. My first impression was it was bland.

Than I thought Key fob. Well than a change of fonts would improve the look.

As just still learning and like to hand something out when people see what I do.

Changing it to a key fob, my own tooling style on it Then maybe it would work.

What a way to practice and good use of scraps..

As some one knows, I am stuck on coasters. So if nothing else- Shot glass coasters.

Tooth picks is what some of my hand tooled tobacco pipes turn into.

Joe

[Mijo]

I thought about making leather business cards awhile back as a way to use up some belly sections of sides that I couldn't otherwise use (for dog collars and leashes). In fact I was planning on having a stamp made so that I could stamp our company info on dog shaped book marks and pass those out as business cards.

Ultimately what killed off that idea was the amount of work that was going to be involved. I had already procured all the necessary equipment to make the books marks (i.e. dog shaped die and wooden book press). Since I was going to incorporate book marks as business cards, I needed to split the leather (a 9-12 oz book mark is too thick and the same thing can be said about business card of the same thickness). Once the leather has been split to an appropriate thickness then I cut out the shape of the book mark using the die. After that's done then I stamp the book mark (with the eyes and nose of the dog and the our company info) and also punch the mouth of the dog which holds the actual page. Once that's done I had to soak the book marks in water then put them into a book press to dry over several days, in order to give the book marks some stiffness. That's a lot of work for something I'm just going to give away.

My dog shaped book marks tanked on their own so I had no interest in incorporating the business card aspect of it. IMO, there's actually more work involved with making leather business cards (that I would be okay with representing our company) than I'm willing to spend. My leather business cards would need to reflect the type of craftsmanship that I'm cable of (as limited as it is) which would mean splitting the leather, pressing them and finishing the edges.

[Spence]

Just a thought, or two. No drama...

I agree it's a good gimmick. I believe gimmicks make business thrive. If you run out of gimmicks, you waste away.

I've had a few businesses of different types over the years and they were all successful, to a degree (no fails). My "secrets" were gimmicks - knowing what to give away to whom and when. You've got a good steady customer, why not throw an extra item in there - I do dog stuff now, so a leash goes into some packages.

A new customer could get a leather biz card on their first order. If you do craft fairs, keep them in your pocket and when you see a likely future customer (you can tell by the way they fondle the leather) give them a leather biz card. It's all gimmick. If it works, it's not tacky. If it doesn't, blame me.

Quite frankly, for what I could get on my ROI (Return on Investment), purchasing a 5 oz (or lighter) tooling shoulder and using that for leather biz cards could probably multiply my ROI significantly. Sometimes my "gift" doesn't pay off, most times it does. It might take a few weeks or months, but when they come back to order a collar or leash or two, my little "gift" is a pretty good ROI.

So what if it's a gimmick. Everyone knows it's a gimmick and they're looking at the gimmick 4x a week and thinking about that gimmick that has your name on it.

[Leatherman5900]

Here's an idea.....those that want to use leather business cards - use them, those that want to use paper cards - use them, and those that do not want to give out business cards period - don't. There....now it is 2013 and time to move on and begin fresh. Happy New Year to everyone!

[Rayban]

Leather business cards, good idea, I like it.

[Leela Valley Leather]

Joyce, I wonder how many of the members here will be recommending your business now that you've totally trashed another member's product. Remember, attitude trumps everything and you've just trumped your own business. Too bad too.

I wont be, and she was one of the people on my short list for a set of custom stamps.

Back to topic:

They seem like a good idea for a certain market I some times sell to.

[dirtclod]

Joyce, I wonder how many of the members here will be recommending your business now that you've totally trashed another member's product. Remember, attitude trumps everything and you've just trumped your own business. Too bad too.

On the third of January i got a new stamp made by her company looks great and works great. I will be happy to recommend her business.

[Chief31794]

On the third of January i got a new stamp made by her company looks great and works great. I will be happy to recommend her business.

Same here, I just got in two templates made to my design specs, a rifle sling template and a banjo strap template that will make cradle or standard banjo straps, absolutely beautiful, and right on the mark. Great company to do business with and has great products and great customer service.

Chief